CLASS APPROVED PERMANENT HULL INSERT PLATE REPAIRS

UMC undertakes a full range of repair and maintenance tasks and the ability to weld underwater forms an important part of this service. However, the Classification Societies have always been reluctant to accept underwater welding as a permanent repair to the shell plating of a ship because the quality is hard to control.

UMC have therefore evolved a technique which allows defective areas of shell plating beneath the waterline to be cut out and replacement insert plates to be welded in position, with all the cutting and welding carried out from inside the hull. This technique has Class Approval as a permanent repair without a Condition of Class.

UNDERWATER WELDING & CUTTING

UMC have embarked upon a training programme whereby our divers are being sent on approved underwater welding courses. On completion of the course, our divers are issued with formal certification from Lloyds Register of Shipping as approved underwater welders. Underwater welding has many applications for the ship owner experiencing problems.
UMC divers are also trained in the use of a variety of underwater cutting systems.

SPECIALIST UNDERWATER PROPELLER REPAIR & REPLACEMENT

UMC are able to offer a comprehensive underwater propeller repair service including such tasks as the cold bending of bent tips back to original profile, hydrostatic rebalancing of damaged propellers, edge modification to assist correction of cavitation and Alternating Field Current Measurement Crack Detection to name a few.

This service is available world wide and we can arrange for an expert team of service engineers and divers to be on site once an initial inspection has quantified the full and accurate extent of the damage.

CLASS APPROVED IN WATER SURVEYS

UMC has carried out hundreds of statutory surveys world-wide - at locations as far afield as Alaska and Fiji - and we are formally approved by all of the leading Classification Societies.

UNDERWATER HULL CLEANING

UMC are well equipped with various, in house designed and built, hull cleaning machines.

The range of devices enable us to clean smaller vessels such as tugs, right up to the largest of VLCC's. The latest machine to roll off the UMC drawing board is MINI PAMPER.

UNDERWATER PROPELLER POLISHING

UMC's underwater propeller polishing provides the quickest and cheapest means of making big fuel savings!

If a ship has a rough fouled hull or a rough fouled propeller, the effect is the same - a catastrophic increase in fuel consumption! But there is one important difference - the hull is coated in antifouling paint but the propeller is not. The best and only defence against propeller fouling is to keep the blade surfaces as smooth as possible.

A super smooth surface is inhospitable to marine organisms as well as being beneficial to the efficiency of the propeller.

SUPPLY & INSTALLATION OF NEUTRALLY BOUYANT HULL APERTURE BLANKS

The ability to blank off sea inlets and overboard discharges safely and quickly underwater is essential if costly delays or even unscheduled dockings are to be avoided. UMC hull aperture blanks are supplied to new buildings, ships in service and to vessels such as FPSOs. They allow sea valves to be opened up inboard for survey or repair whilst the vessel remains afloat.

UNDERWATER COATINGS AND THE USE OF ADHESIVES

UMC specialise in the underwater application of antifouling paints, fillers, mastics and adhesives.

Our specialist underwater surface preparation system ensures a 100% bond between the applied coating and the prepared surface.

DESIGN AND CONSULTANCY

Specialists in devising procedures and solving problems associated with underwater ship husbandry, the company has over 30 years experience of all types of vessels, be they merchant ships, warships or specialist floating structures

UMC's Design & Consultancy division is staffed by professionals with vast experience of trouble shooting and problem solving in the underwater arena.

UNDERWATER PLATE THICKNESS DETERMINATION SURVEYS

Using hand held probes our divers are able to take underwater plate thickness readings for a number of applications. Generally, its easy to build up a picture of trends of thinning on hull plating. More specifically, our divers will check plate thickness when embarked on afloat plate renewal repairs. This assists planning the size of the insert, based on assessing the total area of plate thinning.

STABILISER FIN REPLACEMENT

UMC have developed innovative procedures, complete with internal hardware (cofferdams etc) required to enable stabilising fins to be removed whilst the vessel is still afloat. This is now common practice on many classes of naval vessels.

PROPULSION SYSTEM REPLACEMENT

For propulsion systems that are designed for in water replacement, UMC have vast experience with implementing procedures to ensure a safe and effective removal / replacement of defective propulsion system units. Quick turn arounds can be achieved thus minimising off hire time.

STERN SEAL REPLACEMENT

The design team at UMC have developed many different size arrangements to enable internal removal of shaft seals. The external clamp , fitted by divers, provides a safe watertight environment for shaft seal work. This has been so successful that ships leaving drydock, but that have not completed shaft seal work, have been fitted with these devices which are subsequently removed, by divers, once the internal work is completed.

AFLOAT MAINTENANCE, VOITH PROPELLERS

Using bespoke designed cofferdams, UMC are able to provide single blade or multiple blade repairs / replacement. Work can be carried out to check each blade for cracks using the latest technology in crack detection equipment. Ultimately, the whole Voith unit can be removed and replaced saving the need to dry dock.

BOW THRUSTER REPAIR OR COMPLETE CHANGEOUT

UMC's Design & Consultancy division, working closely with our specialist dive teams and original engineering manufacturers, have developed procedures for a range of in water repairs to bow and stern thruster units. This also includes sound engineering procedures to facilitate complete removal and shore landing of units if required.